COMING AND GOING
A little more than three years ago, I sensed a change coming in life. I had no idea at the time what to expect or what the change entailed, good or bad…positive or negative. All throughout my life, I have always sensed, viewed and approached change with a positive perspective. Even difficult and challenging change requiring patience and perseverance can have a positive outcome. Some changes during my life were planned for while others were not. A more promising and rewarding career opportunity or moving closer to family and friends were good examples of change planned for. And because of purposeful change and adequate time for planning, it was not nearly as thought-provoking as the upcoming change I sensed. No…this one caught me by surprise…and so, was completely unplanned for.
Yet during the initial weeks, I was led to an inspiring and comforting passage from the Book of Psalms to reassure me of the forthcoming change God had planned for our lives. From Psalm 121…”The Lord will keep you from all harm…He will watch over your life; the Lord will watching over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:7-8 NIV Amplified) And so, I was encouraged.
During the course of change…whether in a relationship, a career or a new location or home, there is a coming and going involved, and much depends on our perspective. In coming and going, there is always something looking forward to, and something left behind. There is a leaving and an approaching…a departure and an arrival…a sadness and a joy…and sometimes, a relief and a discovery.
As it turned out, my wife, Bonnie, and I moved our home…and our lives…from Texas to South Carolina, completely unexpected and unplanned for. Yet we both sensed change in the air during the beginning. Midway through our transition, we embarked on a period of rest and reflection…one actually planned for more than a year earlier…but not for the reasons we now found ourselves in. As timing…or God…would have it, it was a short period of rest and reflection we both desperately needed.
I discovered the Grand Canyon also possessed its own coming and going…north rim to south rim, sunrises to sunsets…monsoon rains arriving each afternoon and departing after its momentary downpour on the canyon formations below…the winding Colorado River delineating the water’s course in its own coming and going.
I think this image best communicates those comings and goings in life and the winding river or road that our Creator provides to lead us through the twists and turns, its rapid currents and its calming flow.
This has been my prayer, my faith and my trust, during this coming and going in life. Do I depart, leave behind, feel sadness and pain and perhaps relief? Most certainly! Yet I can choose what to take with me…family…friends…precious memories…and even a sigh of relief as I leave unwanted excess baggage behind. Now, I look forward, I approach, I arrive, I greet and I enjoy a new chapter in life yet unfolding with a new story to be written!
From Isaiah 43:19… See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (NIV Amplified)
In our eyes, we are always coming and going, always leaving something behind and arriving at the next adventure. But in our Creator’s eyes, we have never left! Since the moment of our conception, we are always coming…never leaving…coming into His welcoming arms…coming into eternal life…and change is required along the way…always!